Creating interactive materials for use in Kolibri with SceneryStack

Dear Kolibri community,

We are often asked for recommendations for content creation tools by implementers and educators who are interested in creating interactive resources for use offline. I’m excited to spread awareness of SceneryStack by our friends at PhET:

SceneryStack is an open-source TypeScript framework designed to create powerful, interactive, and accessible web experiences. SceneryStack offers front-end web development libraries for building engaging simulations, educational tools, or next-generation web applications. Included is support for robust accessibility features like dynamic screen-reader descriptions and alternative input (e.g., keyboard navigation).

If you are interested in creating HTML5 interactive resources for compatible use in Kolibri, we encourage you to take a look at what SceneryStack offers. And PhET’s existing simulations are available for import in Kolibri through the Kolibri Library.

Relatedly, the work to build SceneryStack was funded by a now-terminated NSF grant. NSF funding has been critical to developing and advancing resources for STEM education, like SceneryStack. If you are interested in learning about ways to support PhET and others during this time, click here to read more.

1 Like

Hi Laura

I did a search on Kolibri and am unable to find either references to SceneryStack or PhET.

Does this mean that no one has yet uploaded any of the already available simulations to Kolibri?

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for this question, I added a clarification in my post that the PhET simulations are available to access via Kolibri as a channel that can be imported from the Kolibri Library.

SceneryStack is not integrated with Kolibri, but rather can be used as an independent tool to create interactive educational resources–resources which can be saved in a file format (HTML5) that is compatible for use in Kolibri. So after creating a resource using SceneryStack, one would have to add the resource to a personal channel on Kolibri Studio, and then publish it for use in Kolibri.

I hope this clarification helps!

Best,
Laura